Orlando Pirates coach has declared his squad ready for the season that starts with a tasty MTN8 quarterfinal clash
01 August 2024 - 14:34
byMahlatse Mphahlele
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SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt and Orlando Pirates counterpart Jose Riveiro during the 2024-25 MTN8 launch in Auckland Park on Thursday. Picture: BACKPAGEPIX/MUZI NTOMBELA
Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has declared his squad ready for the season that starts with his team’s tasty MTN8 quarterfinal clash against SuperSport United at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
The Buccaneers, who have notably bolstered their squad with Angolan star attacker Gilberto and Selaelo Rasebotja from SuperSport, start the season with the task of defending their MTN8 trophy for a third consecutive season.
“We have 42 players in the squad and if I say I need something else I’ll be unfair to the guys I have,” Riveiro said, adding Bucs aim to to hit the ground running.
Jose Riveiro and Orlando Pirates are chasing a hat-trick of #MTN8 titles, their first challenge will be Gavin Hunt’s SuperSport United.
Here’s what the two coaches had to say about the match coming up on Saturday 👇
“The squad is full of quality, talent and ambition and in numbers we are OK. We have good players in every position, we are good to go, but at this stage of the season no-one is in his prime.
“Competition is forcing us to start competing immediately and make sure the result is on our side on Saturday. I am coaching Orlando Pirates and the expectation must he higher every season because of who we are.
“We have to fight for every opportunity to win game after game. We take one competition at a time. We have the MTN8, where we have the opportunity to defend our title, but we have to respect our next opponents because SuperSport is not a joke.
“We are talking about knockout games, there is no other way to start. We played them twice last season and we couldn’t beat them. We lost in Polokwane and managed to get only one point at Orlando on the last day of the season.
“We know it is going to be a difficult game but we know where we want to go and we will try our best.”
Asked to reflect on their preseason in which they played against teams in Spain, Riveiro said they did their best to be ready for the campaign.
“It was a short preseason full of training matches. We had the opportunity to travel for two weeks and get a proper impression of where the team is and try to find what is the best way to start the season.”
Pirates have won four trophies in Riveiro’s two seasons with the club and been runners-up in the Premiership twice to seven-time successive champions Mamelodi Sundowns, though by 16 and 23-point margins.
MTN8 quarterfinals
Saturday:Orlando Pirates vs SuperSport United, Orlando Stadium (6pm)
Sunday:Stellenbosch FC vs TS Galaxy, Danie Craven Stadium (3pm)
August 10:Sekhukhune United vs Cape Town City, Peter Mokaba Stadium (3pm)
August 11:Mamelodi Sundowns vs Polokwane City. Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium (3pm)
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
SuperSport a difficult team to beat, Riveiro says
Orlando Pirates coach has declared his squad ready for the season that starts with a tasty MTN8 quarterfinal clash
Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has declared his squad ready for the season that starts with his team’s tasty MTN8 quarterfinal clash against SuperSport United at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
The Buccaneers, who have notably bolstered their squad with Angolan star attacker Gilberto and Selaelo Rasebotja from SuperSport, start the season with the task of defending their MTN8 trophy for a third consecutive season.
“We have 42 players in the squad and if I say I need something else I’ll be unfair to the guys I have,” Riveiro said, adding Bucs aim to to hit the ground running.
“The squad is full of quality, talent and ambition and in numbers we are OK. We have good players in every position, we are good to go, but at this stage of the season no-one is in his prime.
“Competition is forcing us to start competing immediately and make sure the result is on our side on Saturday. I am coaching Orlando Pirates and the expectation must he higher every season because of who we are.
“We have to fight for every opportunity to win game after game. We take one competition at a time. We have the MTN8, where we have the opportunity to defend our title, but we have to respect our next opponents because SuperSport is not a joke.
“We are talking about knockout games, there is no other way to start. We played them twice last season and we couldn’t beat them. We lost in Polokwane and managed to get only one point at Orlando on the last day of the season.
“We know it is going to be a difficult game but we know where we want to go and we will try our best.”
Asked to reflect on their preseason in which they played against teams in Spain, Riveiro said they did their best to be ready for the campaign.
“It was a short preseason full of training matches. We had the opportunity to travel for two weeks and get a proper impression of where the team is and try to find what is the best way to start the season.”
Pirates have won four trophies in Riveiro’s two seasons with the club and been runners-up in the Premiership twice to seven-time successive champions Mamelodi Sundowns, though by 16 and 23-point margins.
MTN8 quarterfinals
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